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If you’re thinking about tiny homes, you’re not alone. A lot of people in the Shire of Mundaring are asking about them—mostly because of rising living costs and the appeal of a simpler lifestyle. But before you buy a trailer or start building, there’s one big question you’ll need to answer: does it have wheels?

Tiny Homes ON Wheels

This is the most common misunderstanding. If your tiny home is on a trailer or has wheels, the law treats it as a vehicle (specifically, a caravan). Even if it is beautifully built and looks nothing like the kind of thing you see on the way down south, if it is designed to be pulled by another vehicle, it is legally a caravan.

In the Shire of Mundaring, you can stay in a caravan on private land for up to 5 nights in any 28-day period without needing approval provided you have the landowner's consent.

If you are building a home (and have a Building Permit) on land zoned Rural Residential, Rural Smallholdings, General Agriculture, or other zones where the lot size exceeds 2,000 m² you can make an ‘Application for Temporary Accommodation’. This will allow you to stay in your tiny home on wheels for up to two years while your house is built. It will need to remain road worthy, and be capable of being moved offsite at all times to minimise risk to occupants in the event of a bushfire emergency. It also needs to be kept in a shed, be connected to permanent power, water and effluent disposal.

Permanent occupation is only allowed in approved caravan parks, and the same applies to renting them out as Airbnbs.

Tiny Homes WITHOUT Wheels

If your tiny home is built on permanent foundations (no wheels), you have path to approval.

In this case, the Shire will treat it as either a "Single House" or an "Ancillary Dwelling" (granny flat) depending on whether you have another house on the block. There is no minimum size rule for a Single House, so tiny is fine, but it must be safe and healthy to live in.

To get a tiny home approved, it needs to function like a real house. That means they need a proper kitchen, bathroom, and laundry; minimum ceiling heights; connections to electricity and running water; sewer or septic connection; structural engineering certification; and compliance with energy efficiency standards. If you live in a bushfire‑prone area, you’ll also need a BAL report.

Room‑by‑room requirements apply as well. Bathrooms need a wash basin and a shower or bath, waterproof floors and walls, and ventilation. Laundries need to be enclosed with waterproof flooring, a trough, and water connections. Kitchens must have a stove or oven and a sink.

Tourism development

Tiny homes on wheels are caravans and therefore cannot be approved as tourism development, unless associated with an approved caravan park.

Where a tiny home is not on wheels, the Shire has discretion to consider these on their merits, subject to an assessment against the relevant planning and building legislation.

Do I need approval?

Yes. Before you start building your ancillary dwelling, you generally need a number of approvals from the Shire:

Environmental Approval

If your block is mapped as a Local Natural Area, or if there’s native vegetation or a watercourse that could be impacted, it’s a good idea to organise an Environmental Asset Inspection. The Shire can arrange this for you—just get in touch. Ideally, you’d line up this inspection at the same time the Bushfire Practitioner visits to do the BAL assessment.

To minimise environmental impacts, ancillary dwellings should go in areas that are already cleared or degraded, and preferably close to the main house. That way, the asset protection zones overlap, and you don’t need to remove as much vegetation

Health Approval

If your property uses septic tanks, you need approval from Environmental Health to ensure your system can handle the extra bathroom or kitchen.

Planning (Development) Approval

You likely need this if you live in a bushfire-prone area, on a heritage property, or if your design doesn't per meet the deemed-to-comply residential design codes (setbacks, size, etc.). You can find out more about getting a Planning Approval here

Prior to applying for planning approval, Shire Officers are able to undertake a preliminary assessment of your proposal, which would allow for any potential issues to be identified early on. For this to be done, a site plan, elevations and floor plan showing the proposed development, and a $73 fee, will need to be provided to the Shire’s Planning department.

Building Permit

The final step is to seek a Building Permit. This is required for all new structures or major internal changes and is about ensuring that the new home you build is structurally sound and meets all of the requirements that will make it a safe and comfortable place to live.

More information and contact

For more information about planning approval, contact Planning Services on (08) 9290 6740.

For more information about building permits, contact the Building Services on (08) 9290 6666.

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